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| Travis Watkins |
Facts For Working People sent the letter (e mail) below to United Auto Workers president, Rory Gamble, as a show of solidarity for Travis Watkins and to urge brother Gamble to use the power of his office, the UAW and wider labor movement to demand brother Watkins' termination be rescinded and the safety issues he has raised dealt with.
E Mail the UAW here: feedback@uaw.org and let the UAW leadership know you are following this case.
Rory Gamble
International President, United Auto Workers (UAW)
Dear Brother Gamble,
We are writing to support UAW member brother Travis Watkins, a
mechanic who was fired from his job at the General Motors Components Holdings
plant in Wyoming, Michigan. Brother Watkins is a rank and file union activist
and has organized members of his workplace into the union becoming his unit's
bargaining chair. He has been terminated on trumped up charges because he
warned his co-workers and other UAW members about management failing to provide
adequate protective equipment or details about how coronavirus is affecting
workers at the plant. He has also been critical of his executive board’s
response to his warnings and some members believe the local leadership could do
more.
A result of this pandemic is that the bargaining power of the
UAW has been increased by the pandemic in some ways. All workers can see
how essential we really are. We realize the pressure you are facing in your new
position as president of the UAW in the wake of corruption and embezzlement
charges and threats of receivership by the US government, something we
staunchly oppose. We trust your word that you want to wipe out corruption in
the union. But the surest way to avoid corruption and to strengthen our
struggles with the employers and the government is to fight aggressively for members
and building a fighting active rank and file is crucial to that. Part of the
role of leaders is to encourage and assist those who will replace them.
Brother Watkins, who is also a founding member of a UAW reform
group Unite All Workers For Democracy, put his job on the line for the folks
who pay the dues and has been punished for it. He has filed a grievance and
charges with Michigan OSHA and the National Labor Relations Board. This
is all well and good, but we know that we cannot rely on government agencies or
the courts to adequately defend workers' rights and our organizations. One step
in turning the UAW around and burying an image tarnished by some corrupt
officials, is to use the resources at your command to build a rank and file
campaign to demand brother Watkins' termination be rescinded and he be made
whole including with back pay. In this way, and appealing to organized
labor and our allies throughout the country, the UAW and all of labor will be
strengthened. To not do so will strengthen management’s hand.
The national climate is very favorable at this time especially as
brother Watkins is fighting not just a health and safety issue but a life and
death one.
In Solidarity
Facts For Working People Blog
cc
Willie Holmes, Pres. UAW 167
Steve Dawes, Regional 1D Director UAW
Dan Kosheba, International Representative, UAW Region 1D
More information about Travis Watkins Case here. https://labornotes.org/blogs/2020/04/auto-union-official-fired-warning-about-covid-19
Interview with Travis Watkins
Interview with Travis Watkins
1 comment:
Pressure from where? Gamble went along with this firing. If he stands up and apologizes and demands travis' immediate reinstatement and made whole there is no pressure.
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